Michael

Massey

Massey has now started five of his last six games and six of the eight games since he came off the injured list. He has played both second base and left field, and will be in left field on Thursday with Isaac Collins (knee) still out. Massey is just 2-for-12 with a 4/1 K/BB ratio on the season, so he doesn’t need to be added anywhere right now.

It’s unclear how often Massey will play at first, but Jonathan India is hitting .208/.321/.333 with one home run and five RBI to start the season, so he could lose some starts at second base to Massey against right-handed pitching. It’s a situation to monitor.

Massey figures to get a couple additional games under his belt before returning to Kansas City’s infield mix later this week. The 28-year-old opened the season on the shelf with a left calf strain. He kicked off a rehab assignment earlier this week.

Massey hit the injured list with a left calf strain at the end of spring training. He’ll likely need only a handful of rehab games to get back up to speed before he’s ready to make his season debut.

Massey was probably going to have a bench spot if healthy, but he was limited to eight appearances in the first half of the spring. He should begin a rehab assignment soon and could be activated afterwards, but if Jonathan India gets off to a nice start at second base, it’s also possible Massey could be sent down for a spell.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that Massey tweaked his calf on a play against the Dodgers on Friday, and it “didn’t get better, so they got it checked out.” The hope is that Massey will only miss one week of games. He’s enjoying a solid spring, going 8-for-22 with one home run and five runs scored in eight games.

Massey was limited to just 77 MLB games in 2025 due to injury, but he has hit .243 in 358 career games with the Royals. He figures to enter 2026 as a bench bat.

India was plunked during Thursday’s contest against the Guardians, but this doesn’t appear to be related. It’s just a night off for the versatile 28-year-old. Michael Massey will start in his place at second base and will bat seventh against Phillies’ right-hander Walker Buehler on Friday evening in Philadelphia.

Massey, who already sat against lefties on Tuesday and Wednesday, is out of the lineup for just the second time in 10 games against righties since he came off the IL. The Royals are picking Jonathan India over both Massey and Adam Frazier at second base tonight. Masset is batting .333/.351/.389 in 37 plate appearances since returning from an ankle sprain.

In a game that only had nine total hits, Massey managed two of them. He’s been swinging it well since coming off the injured list last week, going 9-for-22 and starting in six of eight games for the offensively starved Royals.